1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a circuit configuration for supplying an electronic load circuit with an electrcial high voltage. The high voltage has a value whose magnitude is greater than a value of a supply voltage that supplies the circuit configuration. The circuit configuration has a pump circuit that is electrically connected to a load circuit. The pump circuit outputs the high voltage to the load circuit on the basis of an internal switching signal that has a predetermined pump frequency in such a way that the electrical pump power of the pump circuit essentially depends both on the value of the supply voltage and on the value of the pump frequency of the switching signal of the pump circuit. For electrically programmable and erasable semiconductor memories, the programming and erasing steps require voltages whose magnitudes exceed the supply voltage that is customary in most memories. The memory cells of electrically programmable and erasable semiconductor memories are usually constructed from two externally drivable electrodes and a floating-potential electrode situated in between. Such memory cells are programmed by applying charges to the floating-potential electrode by applying a high voltage between the two externally drivable electrodes where the voltage is typically about +18 volts. Such memory cells are erased by removing charges from the floating-potential electrode by applying a high voltage that has an opposite sign to the programming voltage and is typically about -12 volts. Important fields in which electrically programmable and erasable semiconductor memories are employed are, in addition to electronic data processing systems, in particular electronic cards such as, for example, memory cards and microprocessor cards. In these cases, the supply voltage is fed externally from a so-called terminal during a data exchange between the electronic card and the terminal. In the field of TTL technology with integrated semiconductor components constructed from bipolar transistors, the supply voltage is usually 5 volts .+-.10%, whereas in the field of CMOS technology with integrated semiconductor components constructed from field-effect transistors, values of typically 3 volts 10%, are customary. For the fields in which electrically programmable and erasable semiconductor memories are employed, it is therefore desirable to provide a high-voltage generating circuit for voltages of both signs, which operates both with a supply voltage of about 3 volts and with a supply voltage of about 5 volts.